Anderson woman left $6.25 million to university

ANDERSON - Georgia Taylor Roberson rarely talked about money, so even her sister was surprised to learn that she had given North Greenville University the largest gift in its 121-year history.

Roberson, who lived on Thornhill Drive next to Concord Baptist Church, bequeathed $6.25 million to the small Christian school. She died last November.

Her sister said she lived a modest life for someone with such affluence. Both women grew up on a farm in Princeton, just above Ware Shoals, tending to row crops. Roberson worked at the Clemson University Extension Service for 34 years before retiring in 1979.

"I didn't know how much she really had," said her sister, Myrtice Boazman. "That was something she didn't consider to tell or brag about. No, no, that was not her. It was hers to keep as a secret. It was her business.

Boazman represented her sister at a news conference Thursday where the donation was announced.

"With the current economic climate, we have been truly blessed with friends like the Robersons who realized the importance of Christ-centered higher education," North Greenville President James Epting said. "This is a historic day in the life of this institution."

Roberson graduated from Winthrop College in 1945 and received her master's degree from the University of Maryland, but she and her husband, Marshall, had an affinity for the Greenville school.

"They just liked the way that things were being handled up there, that it was a good school that emphasized the lord and that he was in charge of everything," Boazman said.

Roberson instructed that two-thirds of the money be used for scholarships and for the remaining to be allotted where needed.

It is the third time Roberson has given to the university. In 2003, the school built the Marshall H. and Georgia T. Roberson Residence Hall, where 68 women students live. In 2006, she started a scholarship benefiting full-time students who maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

The school awarded an honorary doctorate to Roberson in 2005.

According to Roberson's obituary in the Independent Mail, she co-owned American Sentry Burglar and Fire Alarm Company and Anderson Answering with her husband. The latter business is now known as Blue Ridge Security. The couple had no children.

Boazman cared for her sister in the final years of her life after she suffered a stroke. She drove from Chappells to sit with her at Roberson's request. The stroke limited the speech of the formerly talkative and opinionated woman.

"She believed in doing the right thing and things going according to the way they should," Boazman said.

"I was here more or less for company for her. We had caretakers around the clock for her."

Roberson's bequest allowed the university to surpass its $25 million campaign two years early. The goal has increased to $42.7 million through 2015. The money will fund an indoor athletic and worship center, the Academic Village at Tigerville, a renovation to the science building, residence halls, a building endowment, the school's endowment and athletic complex additions.